Reinforced corrugated member

ABSTRACT

A structural member for use in shipping containers requiring the support of a brace made of wood or the like which includes a blank of corrugated paperboard which is folded into a hollow rectangular member with multiple walls and overlying cutouts to accommodate a rigid reinforcing insert having an aperture therein to receive a wood brace and a flange extending outwardly around the aperture to extend to the outer surface of the corrugated member.

Unlted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,929,272 Bowles Dec. 30, 1975 [54] REINFORCED CORRUGATED MEMBER 3,317,034 5/1967 3,338,501 8/1967 [75] Inventor. Renlle E. Bowles, Janesv1lle, W1s. 3 373 921 3/l968 [73] Assignee: Hoerner Waldorf Corporation, St. 3,409,202 11/1968 Paul Minn 3,601,25l 8/1971 Schwaner 229/14 C 1 Filed! 1975 Primary Examiner Davis T. Moorhead [21] APPL NO; 558,342 Attorney, Agent, or FirmJerry F. Best [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 229/23 C; 206/319 A Structural member for use in shi in Containers 51 1111. (:1. B65D 85/54; B65D 19/40 quiring the Support of a brace gg i wood or the 58 F" Id 1 h 0 seal-c 229/14 23 206/319 like which includes a blank of corrugated paperboard [56] References Cited which is folded into a hollow rectangular member with multiple walls and overlying cutouts to accommodate UNITED STATES PATENTS a rigid reinforcing insert having an aperture therein to 2,791,322 5/1957 Boeye 229/14 C X receive a wood brace and a flange extending outg et wardly around the aperture to extend to the outer suroeye 3,006,462 10/1961 Boeye et a1. face of the corrugated member 3,221,972 12/1965 Bowles et al 229/14 C 8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 30, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,929,272

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Sheet 2 of 3 3,929,272

US. Patent Dec. 30, 1975 US, Patent Dec. 30, 1975 Sheet3of3 3,929,272

REINFORCED CORRUGATED MEMBER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to containers for shipping and storing heavy objects such as engines and motors, more particularly to the frame structure making up the skids used to support the engine or motor within the container and the improved protection for the motor during shipment.

2. Description of the Prior Art Outboard marine motors and other similar heavy objects are shipped as complete units in a single container. The motor is normally shipped in upright position with the power head for the motor resting near the bottom of the carton. The shroud for the motor is normally placed near the bottom of the carton and a structure is provided onto which the outboard motor may be fixed to prevent movement during shipment. This type of container is described in US. Pat. Nos. 3,221,972 and 3,317,034 to R. E. Bowles, et al. It is desirable to use as much corrugated paperboard as possible in the structure to reduce weight and assembly costs. There is a continuing need for improved strength, resiliency, and economy in the design of the various components in such containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A ribbed reinforcing insert made from rigid plastic or similar material adapted to be enclosed within a folded multi-wall corrugated tube and having an aperture exposed through the corrugated tube to receive one end of a mounting brace forming a part of the structure of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rolled corrugated member combined with a reinforcing insert according to the present invention, with the insert shown partially hidden as indicated by the dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank adapted to be folded into a member such as that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcing insert such as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the insert shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a skid made up of two reinforcing members such as shown in FIG. 1 and having rectangular braces inserted into the inserts which are shown in dash lines;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational section view of the member and insert shown in FIG. 1, taken along section lines 6-6;

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view of the insert and member of FIG. 1, taken along section lines 7-7 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an expanded view in section of a portion of the insert shown in FIG. 3, illustrating the configuration of the inside surface of the insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention describes components used to construct a skid shown generally as 10 in FIG. 5 which is used in a larger assembly for a container adapted to hold a heavy object such as an outboard motor and protected during shipment and storage. The motor is attached to the cross member 11 which may be an appropriately sized piece of wood or other material and to which may be clamped the clamps usually used to secure the motor to the transom of a boat, and which extends between the two elongated support members 12 which fit inside the container, not shown, and which are kept in position by the cross member 11 and a second spacing strut 13 which is shown at the end of the two longitudinal members 12. In the perspective view of one of the members 12 in FIG. 1, it may be seen that each member 12 is made up of two parts, a folded blank made of corrugated paperboard or similar sheetlike material and wrapped into a multiple thickness tubular configuration shown as 14 and a reinforcing insert 15 about which the wrapped blank 14 is placed and which has an opening to accommodate one end of the cross member 11. In order to show the relationship with the wrapped blank, in FIG. 1 the reinforcing insert 15 is shown in dash lines since most of it is enclosed within the wrapped blank.

FIG. 2 shows a typical blank which could be utilized in the present invention and includes a substantially rectangular sheet of paperboard which has a top edge 16, a parallel bottom edge 17, a first or left vertical lateral edge 18 and a second. lateral edge positioned parallel to the first lateral edge and located at the right side of said blank numbered 19. In the particular em bodiment shown, the blank is divided into five main panels which extend the vertical height of the blank 14 and are identified as 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 and which are defined by the outside lateral edges 18 and 19 as well as four pairs of vertical fold lines 25, 26, 27 and 28 which are spaced apart in slightly increasing measure from left to right to accommodate the increasing width as the blank 14 is folded about itself, the spaces between these pairs of fold lines, identified as 29, 30, 31 and 32 forming the narrow side walls of the finally folded support member 12. Four of the wall panels 20 through 24 have rectangular apertures formed therein, 33, 34, 35 and 36 which are adapted to accommodate flanges on the reinforcing insert 15, and will be described in more detail later. It is not necessary to form the fifth panel 24 with an aperture since it is the outer panel which is positioned against the interior surface of the wall of the container and through which the transverse member 11 does not pass. The panels 21, and 23 have rectangular notches cut near the bottom thereof shown as 37 and 38 which are foldable into overlapping relationship as seen in FIG. 1 to provide the notch for the support member 13 as seen in FIG. 5.

The insert 15 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, and is typically made from a hard resilient material such as high density polyethylene and performs several valuable functions. When the cross member 11 is supported by the reinforcing insert 15, the load which is transmitted from the motor through the member 11 to the longitudinal members 12 is more effectively distributed by the reinforcing insert 15 than would the case with no insert at all or through the use of simple wooden blocks as used in the prior art. The reinforcing insert 15 is generally rectangular in shape to fit within the opening inside the rolled up blank 14. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the insert 15 has a center frame 39 which forms the basic frame of the insert 15 and its only interruption is the generally rectangular opening 40 which serves to accommodate the ends of the cross member 11 in the assembled. container. Around the perimeter of the frame 39 is a perpendicular reinforcing ridge 41 which extends both ways from the center frame and which, together with the pattern of reinforcing ribs or struts 42 which may be and are shown on both sides of the frame 39, serve to distribute the load placed on the flange 43 surrounding the inner rectangular aperture 40 by the motor or other heavy object and may be defined in operation by the same principles which are used in bridge truss construction to distribute loads and reduce high stress points.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, the insert has a flange 43 which extends outwardly from the frame 39 around the perimeter of the aperture 40 beyond the width of the outer rim 41 on both sides of the center frame 39. This flange 43 serves two purposes, as an outwardly extending ridge against which the edges of the apertures 33, 34, 35 and 36 of the blank '14 are foldable in edge-abutting relationship and also as a guide to facilitate the insertion of the cross member 11 during assembly of the container. This is one way that the stresses are transmitted from the cross member 11 through the insert 15 to the folded blank 14. As seen in FIG. 8, the outwardly extending flange 43 has a chamfer 44 at its outer extremity, a middle distance area of reduced diameter 45 which appears as a raised portion, and a wiper ring 46 extending around the aperture 40 along the transverse center line thereof which serves to remove excess glue from the transverse member 11 when it is inserted if glue is used, and assists in retaining in position a transverse member 11 which might be slightly undersized, while the chamfer 44 and tapered larger areas 44a and 45 are designed as guides to facilitate insertion of the member 11. There are transversely extending ridges 47 which can be seen on edge in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 which additionally serve to hold in place a transverse member 11 which is sized smaller than what would be considered optimum for the aperture 40.

It has been found that the interior corners of the aperture 40 in the reinforcing insert 15 are points of concentration of high stress and it has been found that providing these inside corners with a small radius as shown will tend to reduce the probability of failure of the structure in that area. The configuration of the reinforcing ribs 42 is to distribute the load from the aperture 40 and flange 43 to the outer perimeter of the reinforcing member 15 and hence to the currounding member 14. It should be noted that the ridges 47 and the aperture 40 eliminate the need for adhesives or other fastening materials which reduce assembly time and eliminate the need for curing of any adhesive after final assembly. The flange 43 also eliminates the need for assembly jigging since it serves as its own mandrel when the corrugated wrapper is placed around it. It can be seen that this system provides positive alignment of the various members for insertion of the cross member 11 and spacing strut 13 and eliminates the necessity for these members to be of non-standard lumber with chamfered ends. The design of the reinforcing insert 15 provides the necessary chamfer for easy insertion of wooden parts. The design allows for reclamation and reuse of the parts, particularly the reinforcing insert 15.

The design of the insert 15 is shown symmetrical about the center frame 39 with the flange 43 extending out both sides to engage as many thicknesses as possible. It is possible to construct the insert 15 with the structure reinforcing it on one side only since the member 11 only extends through one side. The present design may be positioned either way in the member 14 providing a longer bearing area for the cross member and placing the load more centrally within the member 14.

In accordance with the Patent Statutes, I have described the' principles of construction and operation of my improvement in REINFORCED CORRUGATED MEMBER; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. An improved skid for use in a shipping container or the like, said skid comprising:

a pair of longitudinal members each formed from a single blank of corrugated paperboard or the like and folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross section;

each of said longitudinal members being folded around into substantially rectangular tubular relation and having positioned therein a rigid reinforcing insert;

said reinforcing insert being adapted to fit snugly within the hollow interior of said folded longitudinal member;

said reinforcing insert having a rectangular aperture formed therein, said aperture defined by a flange extending outwardly through at. least one side of said longitudinal member and adapted to receive one end of a wooden cross member interconnecting said pair of longitudinal members.

2. The skid of claim 1 including a spacing strut interconnecting said longitudinal members at one end thereof.

3. A structural member made from corrugated paperboard or similar sheet-like material adapted for use in a shipping container and further adapted to receive one end of a wood member, said structural member comprising:

a single blank of said paperboard folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross section;

said blank being folded around and having positioned therein a rigid reinforcing insert;

said reinforcing insert being substantially rectangular in shape and adapted to fit snugly within the hollow interior of said folded blank;

said insert having an aperture therethrough, and said blanks having aligned apertures therethrough.

4. A rigid reinforcing insert adapted to be placed within a folded tubular longitudinal member, said longitudinal member folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross-section, saidinsert comprising:

a substantially rectangular flat center frame;

a perpendicular reinforcing ridge connected to said frame and extending around the outer periphery thereof and perpendicular thereto; and

said center frame having a rectangular aperture formed therein, said-aperture defined by a flange extending outwardly around the perimeter thereof on at least one side of said frame perpendicular to said frame.

5. The reinforcing insert of claim 4 including reinforcing struts connected to said frame extending between said flange and said perpendicular ridge to increase the strength and rigidity of said reinforcing insert.

6. The reinforcing insert of claim 4 wherein said outwardly extending flange is formed with afirst tapered surface on the inside thereof at the edge away from said frame to facilitate the insertion of a wooden member.

an additional wall panel foldably connected to the end of the second series of rectangularly arranged wall panel and folded outwardly of one of said wall panels of said second series;

said one panel of said second series, and the panels of said first and series which are parallel thereto hav ing said aligned apertures therethrough;

said additional wall panel being imperforate. 

1. An improved skid for use in a shipping container or the like, said skid comprising: a pair of longitudinal members each formed from a single blank of Corrugated paperboard or the like and folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross section; each of said longitudinal members being folded around into substantially rectangular tubular relation and having positioned therein a rigid reinforcing insert; said reinforcing insert being adapted to fit snugly within the hollow interior of said folded longitudinal member; said reinforcing insert having a rectangular aperture formed therein, said aperture defined by a flange extending outwardly through at least one side of said longitudinal member and adapted to receive one end of a wooden cross member interconnecting said pair of longitudinal members.
 2. The skid of claim 1 including a spacing strut interconnecting said longitudinal members at one end thereof.
 3. A structural member made from corrugated paperboard or similar sheet-like material adapted for use in a shipping container and further adapted to receive one end of a wood member, said structural member comprising: a single blank of said paperboard folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross section; said blank being folded around and having positioned therein a rigid reinforcing insert; said reinforcing insert being substantially rectangular in shape and adapted to fit snugly within the hollow interior of said folded blank; said insert having an aperture therethrough, and said blanks having aligned apertures therethrough.
 4. A rigid reinforcing insert adapted to be placed within a folded tubular longitudinal member, said longitudinal member folded into a tube having a hollow rectangular cross-section, said insert comprising: a substantially rectangular flat center frame; a perpendicular reinforcing ridge connected to said frame and extending around the outer periphery thereof and perpendicular thereto; and said center frame having a rectangular aperture formed therein, said aperture defined by a flange extending outwardly around the perimeter thereof on at least one side of said frame perpendicular to said frame.
 5. The reinforcing insert of claim 4 including reinforcing struts connected to said frame extending between said flange and said perpendicular ridge to increase the strength and rigidity of said reinforcing insert.
 6. The reinforcing insert of claim 4 wherein said outwardly extending flange is formed with a first tapered surface on the inside thereof at the edge away from said frame to facilitate the insertion of a wooden member.
 7. The reinforcing insert of claim 4 including raised ridges extending transversely across said flange and extending into said aperture.
 8. The structure of claim 3 and in which said blank comprises: a first series of four rectangularly arranged wall panels forming an inner rectangular member; a second series of four rectangularly arranged wall panels encircling said first series of wall panels in face contact therewith, and an additional wall panel foldably connected to the end of the second series of rectangularly arranged wall panel and folded outwardly of one of said wall panels of said second series; said one panel of said second series, and the panels of said first and series which are parallel thereto having said aligned apertures therethrough; said additional wall panel being imperforate. 